February 2007—issue 18

State's 'universal' health plan already falling short

Less than a year after Massachusetts’s controversial healthcare initiative was first revealed, evidence is accumulating to bolster critics who said the system is faulty by design.

Cambridge church yields to pressure, evicts Palestine group

Last year the Center for Palestinian Human Rights (CPHR) rented office space in the basement of the First Church Congregational UCC in Cambridge. For several months the group screened documentaries on Palestine in the church. Then late in October, the leadership of the church sent CPHR a curt letter:

Panther vets shackled in San Francisco court

Wednesday, February 14 (Jericho)— In a significant showing of support this morning, family and friends of four of the "San Francisco 8" packed a hearing room at San Francisco Superior Court. Many people were unable to actually get in. As Ray Boudreaux, Richard Brown, Hank Jones and Richard O'Neal were brought into the courtroom in shackles, supporters burst into applause.

Charges vs. former Black Panthers based on police torture

The charges against former Black Panthers, arrested a few days ago in connection with a 1971 homicide, were based on "evidence" produced under torture.

Et tu, celly?

Ever get that creepy feeling? The feeling that someone is listening to you, though not a soul is in sight? The FBI has begun remotely activating cellphone microphones to eavesdrop on nearby conversations. And they may not be the only ones.

Plant could bring trucks to Somerville streets

The Boston Water and Sewer Commission says that more than sixty big heavy trucks full of wet sewer sludge will be delivered to its new processing plant every day.

Why we need Black History Month

In this attention deficit disordered world, we need to try to focus our awareness on respecting each other by continually commemorating one another’s long legacies and continuous contributions to modern society.

Islamophobia—the new anti-Semitism

For several years, the news media have increasingly featured controversies involving Muslim communities in the USA and Europe. In December, US Representative Virgil Goode (R-VA) and Holocaust Museum council member Dennis Prager objected to US Representative-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN) using a Quran in the oath-taking ceremony.

American Gulag

For certain racial and ethnic groups, being arrested and locked up is a given. Beginning in adolescence, we have established a warped “rite of passage” for young African Americans and Hispanics; only by a fluke will they avoid acquiring a “criminal record” as the result of an arrest.

Everett fights sludge project on Mystic River

At the January 4 public meeting of the Charlestown Neighborhood Council, Vincent Mannering of the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) stated that he never promised to re-file a Notice of project Change (NPC) for this project and rejected our request to do so. We need everyone’s help to get the word out on this issue. They are trying to force a sewage processing facility into the backyards of the low-income and minority neighborhoods of Charlestown, Everett and Somerville without due process and must be stopped.

Canada and Haiti

Before antiwar Americans place your bets on Canada or the United Nations, you should know what they are up to in Haiti....

Cambridge cops seek Taser weapons

Cambridge Police Commissioner Ronnie Watson wants some Electro-Muscular Disruption Technology—stun guns or TASERs—for his crew. And once they get TASERs, they will be able to shop for a large and growing family of other “less-lethal weapons.” So on the morning of December 12, Watson came with several cops to the City Council’s public safety committee hearing on TASERs, to recommend their adoption.

Pushing the barriers then—and today

As we, PWDs, struggle to gain our own Civil Rights, we should take note of the struggle of folks who came before us. Coming right after January 15th, Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, February should be a time to reflect on this legacy.

The Great Turning

The Great Turning is a name for the essential adventure of our time: the shift from the Industrial Growth Society to a life-sustaining civilization.

Groups tell Feds: No cloning animals for food

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has completed its review and is moving towards allowing milk and meat from animal clones and their offspring into the food supply.

Listen up or get zapped!

Cambridge Police Commissioner Ronnie Watson wants some Electro-Muscular Disruption Technology—stun guns (Tasers) for his crew. And once they get Tasers, they will be able to shop for a large and growing family of other "less-lethal weapons."

Green-Rainbow: State report reveals public education crisis

Tuesday, January 23— The Green-Rainbow Party said today that the new State report on high school graduation rates confirmed their candidates’ position that public education is in serious crisis in Massachusetts. Party leaders called on Patrick to act quickly and fairly to address the crisis.

Arts Center offers teens alternative

Can we still be optimistic about the future? The answer is a resounding "Yes!" And I’ll tell you why. There is a place where young people congregate and it’s called The Community Arts Center(CAC). "Hope" has been keeping residence there for over 30 years.

Israeli Apartheid: a truth known to all

The soldier answered, "What do you want us to do, put up a sign and let some antisemitic reporter take a photo so he that can show the world that Apartheid exists here?"

Synthetic Biology: scientists gone wild

TORONTO— A new report by the ETC Group concludes that the social, environmental and bio-weapons threats of synthetic biology surpass the possible dangers and abuses of biotechnology.

Are you afraid of what’s in your food?

Join the Somerville anti-GMO initiative project

Jan. 30—Bloody Sunday commemoration at Plough & Stars

If the term “Bloody Sunday” had only been a moniker for the events of January 30, 1972 in Derry, Northern Ireland, it would have been enough of an egregious description for a massacre. Sadly, though, the term can be applied to two other dates in history: January 22, 1905 and November 21, 1920.

City Hall fiddles while Chronicle fartles

In Cambridge, the mayor is not much more than another city councillor. The City Manager has all the power. However, the mayor does get a bigger salary, a nice big office, a car, a staff and a special budget.